However, there are other factors that come into play as well, some of which are a result of the quick rise of digital wallet services like Apple Pay. Some might wonder that moving the numbers to the back of the card and other design changes were about aesthetics, but for the banks, it’s all about wooing the ‘Instagram generation’ by making these refreshing changes. HSBC, Halifax, and First Direct have also followed suit. There is a recent trend when it comes to the high street banks.Įarlier this year, Barclaycard had redesigned its credit cards to remove numbers from the front, while a new-look debit card was rolled out by NatWest where “all the usual card info is now on the back”. While some consumers have lauded the change, others have stated that payments over the phone or online are much simpler. It is believed that this provides the customers with an additional layer of security. Since then, Chase has been providing the current account holders with a numberless debit card which has become a huge hit in the UK.

The company’s investors were provided these cards that did not have the numbers on them. Now, with the personal information and numbers printed on the back of the card, it is now more typical to have a rather plain and uncluttered front or even an eye-catching image.Ī payment service called Curve, in early 2020 launched the “first numberless cards in Europe”. They were rather utilitarian, with the account holder’s name, a long number, and the “valid from” and “expires end” dates, and carried the short code and account number on the front of the card and the three-digit card security code on the back. Some of them are not even printing them anywhere.įor decades, bank cards had a largely looked uniform. Increasingly, banks are removing information such as the expiry date present on the back of the card and the 16-digit long number on the front. Initially, there was a revolution of contactless transactions, but now debit cards and credit cards are going numberless.

Debit cards numbers that work 2017